The Reading of Red Riding Hood
by VILYA74
Summary: Ever tried to read a fairy tale to a four year old?Elrond finds out what it is like.


_**Red Riding Hood**_

By Vilya74

Disclaimer: Not mine, not even little red riding hood.

Time period: Young Estel

E-mail: Ever tried reading a fairy tale to a four year old?

Elrond sat down gracefully and arranged his robes around him before slowly opening the book he held in his right hand. The little boy in the bed was watching him intently with a look of anticipation in his eyes. Ada promised to read him a fairy tale tonight.

A traveling merchant had visited Rivendell a few weeks ago, and from the merchant's children he had learned about the tradition of bedtime stories. Of course, plenty of stories were told in the Hall of Fire, but these were boring old Elvish stories he had heard since he was a small boy. They went on forever and by the time they were finished he had usually fallen asleep and had been carried up to his chamber. Whereas now he could lie here, snug in his own bed, and learn about the stories told by men to their children. He had pestered Elrond for days on end, and the Lord of Rivendell finally gave in and sent for a book containing a few of these so called fairy tales.

Elrond cleared his throat and began:

"Once upon a time, there lived in a small town..."

"Which town was that, Ada?"

"They don't say yet, Estel, we may come to that," Elrond answered, and then continued "…on the edge of a dark forest, a man and …"

"Only I thought it could be Bree, but Bree is not on the edge a dark forest. Which forest was it, Ada?"

"Perhaps it was the woods of Lorien, Estel. Now be quiet and listen to the story."

"Yes, Ada."

"…and a wife and their…"

"But Ada, the woods of Lorien aren't dark. Maybe it's Mirkwood they are talking about."

"Could be, Estel. … and their beautiful…"

"Could be Fangorn Forest. That's pretty dark, isn't it?"

"Estel, really! Do you want to hear the story or not?"

"Of course, Ada, I was just wandering about the forest."

"Well, forget about the forest for now. Maybe they say which forest it is later on."

"All right. Go ahead."

Elrond looked at Aragorn suspiciously, but the boy was watching him expectantly. It took him a moment to find his place again, and then continued.

"…and their beautiful daughter, and no, Estel, they don't say what her name was either. Or her father's name or her mother's name."

The boy shut his mouth which had been forming the question, and lay back on his pillow. This was a strange story indeed. Elvish stories usually explored the genealogies of each character in depth.

"…Each day the girl's mother warned her not to play in the forest, as danger lurked there in the form of a huge and cunning wolf."

"Well then it can't be Mirkwood. They just have spiders. Do they have wolves in Fangorn, Ada?"

"Estel, I thought we agreed that we will not pursue the locality of the wood at this time?"

"Yes, but Ada …"

"No buts, Estel. If you want to hear the story let me read it to you."

"All right, Ada."

"… But one day it happened that the girl's grandmother became ill. The grandmother…

"Why did she become ill?"

"Well, she is human. Elderly humans tend to fall ill easily."

"Why?"

"They are not as strong as when they were young and they can no longer readily fight off diseases."

"Yes, but why?"

"Estel! This is not a lecture on the physiology of humans. This is a bed time story! Do you wish to hear the rest of it?"

"Sorry, Ada"

"…"

"So what illness did she have?"

"Estel, I'm warning you. Stop interrupting me."

"Yes, Ada"

"… Grandmother lived all alone in a small cottage in the heart of the dark wood."

"Why?"

"Why what, Estel?" sighed Elrond.

"Why did she live all alone? And why in the heart of the dark wood if it's such a dangerous place."

"I don't know, Estel. Why don't we find out together?" he said testily.

"Yes, Ada."

"…So the girl's mother decided to send her to her grandmother with some food and medicine, and no Estel, I don't know why she did not go herself, or sent her husband, or a servant or any number of other people."

"I just wanted to know what kind of food she sent. Obviously her husband was away and she was too busy to go and there was no-one else to send. Why else would she send her daughter after warning her before not to go into the forest. Really, Ada, you sometimes have the silliest ideas."

Elrond took a deep breath and continued to read:

"…She packed a basket full of ham and bread and butter and even a cake. Then…"

"Why not soup? You always give me soup when I'm ill."

"Maybe the old lady didn't like soup. Or maybe the mother didn't have time to make any seeing as she was so busy, according to you."

"Oh. So what kind of medicine did she pack? If the grandmother had chicken pox she could pack…"

"Estel, it is rather unlikely that she would have chicken pox. She lives all alone in the forest, remember."

"Yes, but…"

"Aragorn!" Elrond closed his eyes and shook his head to clear his frustration. "Please let me continue."

"Yes, Ada."

"… Then she dressed the girl up warm and hung her red riding hood about the child's shoulders." Elrond look up in expectation of the obvious question, but Estel just looked at him innocently. "…Then she warned her sternly not to stray from the path and to be on the look out for the dangerous and cunning wolf." Again, no reaction from Estel. Elrond began to relax. "…So the girl took the basket and left the house. She skipped down the path, singing…"

"Why did she skip? Wasn't the basket too heavy for that?"

"Little girls do silly things sometimes, Estel."

"Did Arwen ever skip down pathways?"

"Arwen has been a lady for so long that I cannot recall her ever skipping anywhere."

"Only you said girls tend to skip, and Arwen is a girl."

"A lady, Estel, a lady. There is a difference, and no I am not going to explain that right now."

Estel looked mutinous, but dropped his eyes under Elrond's stern gaze.

"…singing as she went. A human song, Estel, and no I am not familiar with any….After a long time she reached her grandmother's house, which I am quite sure she was familiar with despite not having gone into the forest before, so close your mouth….But what she did not know was that the wolf.."

"The dangerous and cunning wolf?"

"Yes, that wolf, had observed her progress through the woods, and guessed where she was going. So the wolf hurried ahead of her, and entered the grandmother's house.…"

"Through the door?"

"Yes, Estel, through the door."

"But, Ada, how did he open the door?"

"He was a cunning wolf, remember."

"Oh."

"….The wolf grabbed the old lady and ate her with one bite…"

"One …?"

"One bite, Estel, that's what it says here."

"Wow. That must have been a really big wolf." Estel looked duly impressed.

"…Thereafter he dressed in her nightgown and put on her cap and climbed in her bed. So when the girl came into the house, she saw the wolf lying in her grandmother's bed. She looked at her grandmother …."

"You mean the wolf."

"Yes, but it seems that the girl is thinking it's her grandmother."

"But wolfs look nothing like humans, Ada. Why would she …?"

"Because the wolf was in disguise, remember. He was wearing her nightdress and cap, so the girl was confused."

"Ada, this is a really silly story, how could she be confused by a nightie and a hat?"

Elrond counted to ten and then wondered whether it would not be a good idea to press right on to a hundred.

"Estel, you made me send someone fifty miles to buy this book. Now, be quiet and listen!" His eyebrows rose dangerously, and Estel thought it expedient to reply with a mumbled:

"Yes, Ada."

"Where was I? …She looked at her grandmother and asked: 'Granny, why are your ears so big? And the wolf replied in a rasping voice…"

"It could talk? Ada, why didn't you say the wolf could talk. This must be an enchanted wolf." Estel sat up eagerly in his bed. "Go on, Ada, what did the wolf say?"

"He said 'So that I can hear you better.' The girl looked at her grandmother and asked 'But why are your eyes so large?' And the wolf replied: 'So that I can see you better'. "

"But why was the riding hood red, Ada?"

"What colour should it have been, Estel." At last the boy realizes the folly of a red garment in a green forest, Elrond thought with some satisfaction.

"Pink. Girls wear pink, don't they?" Elrond sighed.

"Yes, Estel, undoubtedly it should have been pink. You will have to ask the mother that question if you ever meet her."

"Do you think I will?" Estel looked baffled.

"No, Estel, it's only a story, after all."

"So why did you say..?"

"Never mind, Estel, just listen….So the girl looked at him while he was speaking, and asked: 'But why do you have such big teeth?' At this the wolf jumped from the bed shouting: 'So that I can eat you more easily!'…"

"Won't the teeth just hinder him if he swallows his food whole?"

Elrond decided to ignore the question and hurriedly read on. "…But the wolf became entangled in the bedding, and the girl had time to run out of the house, yelling for help. Not too far away a woodcutter was chopping wood, and he heard her screams. He hurried towards her voice, and saw her running down the path with a wolf in a nightdress and cap hard on her heels. So he grabbed his axe and he ran at the wolf. They had a fierce fight, but in the end the woodcutter killed the wolf. Then he cut open the wolf, and freed the girl's grandmother from the stomach of the wolf."

"From his stomach? Ew!"

"…She was a little stunned, but after the woodcutter gave her some water, she recovered, and they all went back to the grandmother's house, where they feasted on the food brought by the girl. And that was the end of the big, bad wolf. The End."

Elrond sighed with some relief, until he saw the puzzled expression on his son's face. "What is it, Estel?"

"Well, I understand about the granny being whole, but how did she breathe?"

"It was an enchanted wolf, remember Estel? It is possible that the normal rules didn't apply."

Estel looked fairly satisfied with this explanation, so Elrond hurriedly kissed him goodnight, blew out the candle and made his escape. He had almost reached the door when he heard a sleepy voice say: "Ada, what was the dwarf doing in Fangorn Forest?"

Elrond looked perplexed: "What dwarf, Estel?"

"The one with the axe." At which point Elrond fled.


End file.
